Did you know that your cell phone
is keeping war-rape alive in the DR Congo?
Yep. You read it right.
You’re probably attached to the
contraption: texting, checking your emails, listening to music, gaming, saving
memos, setting up an alarm, taking pictures... or whatever else it is that you
need your phone for.
You may have found yourself
marvelling at technology and its advancements. You might think it is super
awesome that you can reduce your thoughts to words and send them blitzing
across to a friend somewhere else in the world. Which is all very well, really
– for technology is good, and all that stuff.
But just pausing a moment, have
you wondered what makes these phones what they are? They contain a metallic ore
that has heat resistant properties among other things that make them useful
components in cell phone manufacture. If it wasn’t for this mineral, which is
called coltan, you’d probably be carrying heated contraptions in your hands for
posterity.
Before you roll your eyes and
decide to give this a pass, stick with me. This is going somewhere.
Coltan comes from the DR Congo.
And it isn’t just mined like minerals are mined in a peaceful place. In the
Congo, coltan is mined by putting women through torture, sexual violence and
rape. Brutal and harsh killings continue thriving, as villages, rebel groups,
companies and the government lock horns for a giant share in the mineral
wealth. The government used the chaotic backdrop of war and violence to
institutionalize corruption and money-making through the trade in rare
minerals. Soon titled conflict minerals, the monetary revenues that the trade
in them generated fuelled the continuance of war and sexual violence. Corporate
houses, high ranking military officers, businessmen and governments effectively
played a role in backing the rebellious groups, to continue the state of war,
so as to make business easy. The DR Congo is a treasure trove of minerals –
with cobalt, coltan, copper, diamonds, gold, tin and tungsten available in
abundance. Imagine how much more war and sexual violence will thrive, and for
how much longer, just for the sake of minerals.
Why would it thrive, you may ask.
Well. Because of the huge
customer base for cell phones that includes you.
As long as there is demand, there
is supply. And as long as there is supply, the prevailing practice will
continue. A warlord, a rebel, a company or even a government that is making
piles of money isn’t necessarily going to bother brokering peace when war is
his breadwinner. They make plenty and more with a war going on, with territory,
power and money in abundance under their control. And sexual violence, there,
is a painful feature.
You can shrug this post off and
say “Ah no big deal. I can’t live without my cell phone.”
I understand.
But just think for a moment, can
you?
What hope do we have if the world
just believes that rape is ‘no big deal’? What use is any rhetoric, if everyone
just stands and watches? Inaction, apathy and simply turning a deaf ear
actually encourage the perpetration of such evil. A girl of your age in Congo
would have faced harsher reality than you could possibly fathom. A woman of
your age in Congo would be living a life far, far away from what’s ‘normal’ for
you.
What you CAN do, is to continue
using a cell phone, but one that does not source coltan from the DR Congo.
Coltan is available with as much abundance in Australia, Brazil, Canada with
possible avenues opening up in Greenland. There are companies and brands that
use conflict minerals. There are those that do not. Do your research, and be on
the right side of the fence.
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